Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1887-10-22

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people his course and the subjects to be
considered by the commission.
Wages in Europe and America.
Senator Frye's speech before the Home
Market Club at Boston, Wednesday
evening, is remarkable for its full and
clear statement of the wages pnid to
laborers in various parts of Europe. 1t
appears that he took special pains to
visit the factories, shops and fields in the
several countries which he went to while
abroad, and make particular inquiries
and investigation into the condition and
wages of people there employ ed. The
result is one that laborers may study with
profit. 1t may lead them to consider as
they never have considered what pro-
lection is doing for them in this country
as against the pauper labor of Europe.
and to show them that the American sys-
tenn is the laborer's friend and free trade
his worst enemy Mr.. Frye's speech is
full OF interesting facts from which we
clip the following:
Evsry inch of Italy is farmed, as you may
we'll suppose, to support 10000 900 OF people.
You may take every man, woman and child
there is in the United States to-day, 10000,
900, and add 10 900, 600 t. them and drop
them right down in the center of the State of
Texas, and it would not be as thicky popu
lated rs Italy is to-day. SO they farm every
inch of land in Italy, away to the tops of the
mountains, where there is a bit of soil. The
women do it. | have seen 20 women In one
field They employ from six to eight persons
on an acre OF land where we do not employ
more than one. What are their wages?
From ID to Is cents day, working the 1--we
long day in the hot sun. When they hoe
they use one of these old-fas hioued stub hoes
that would weigh from three TO four pounds
with a handle nearly as large as that bottle
| was through there in haying time, and the
women did the haying; they did II with a
scvthe like our own bushw hacker "a we call
it, only about three inches wider than the
bushwhacker Suppose in a short time they
could use agricultural Implements in Italy,
that will free from that sort of labor four out
OF five who are at work az ii, aud they can 60
into the cotton mills aud the silk mills and
work against your people At 10 10 Is cents a
day.
Go up to Switzerland. was at Interlaken
and | stopped at an elegant hotel | remsm-
Der there was very elegant garden, elegant
grounds, splendidly laid out and splendldly
taken care OF. saw man there husily at
work from early in the morning till late at
night, landscape gardener. | said to the
landlord: 81 want to know what you pay
him. He is good man. isn't hep He said
he was. | said What do you pay bimT
81 pay him $50 year, and he boards MINI
self, | giving him few vegetables. "Well,
said |, "what do you pay those fellows who
help him?" "Well," said he, THAT fellow
who is working there pay 50 cents day.
and can hire just as many as | want for &c
cents day." His immense herd OF cattle
had that morning started for the mountain,
where they would stay all the livelong sum
mer through, so long as the grass was green,
aud work gradually up the mountain, the
herdsmen living in huts on the mountain side
and staying there the whole season through.
Said |: "Whst do you pay your herdsmen!
SAID he "Forty cents is very heavy price
to pay for herdsmen, but think q great deal
of my cows" Laughter. Go into the
Swiss silk factory and you will fad they are
competing with you silk manufacturers of
the United States. You will fnd women
there working, on the average, for 20 cents a
day, and you will find men working for 40
cents day-skilled laborers in the manu-.
facture of silk.
How about wages IN Belgium | went into
lace factory in Brussels, and saw women
working there precisely as they worked IN
Venice, and was able to get information
there; and found that the women there,
skilled workmeu, earued 20 cents a day. The
wages in Belgium are better than the
wages in Italy or Switzerland. and
in my judgment, about equal to the wages
in Germany and France; | think little
better than the wages in Germany. In the
cotton factory they pay their women from 20
TO 25 cents and their men from 40 to 60 cents
day. You can go into the great steel snd
iron msnufsciory and you cannot find on the
paw roll of the whole concern single lsboriue
man whose daily pay amounts to S0cents, not
one and they run down to 40 cents day. The
women do all the farming in Belgium, aud
they do it at from l6 to Is and 20 cents day
Go up 70 Germany. went first to Munich,
aud the first voyage of discovery l made into
Munich / saw about score of women, with
an awkward-looking saw and singulsr-look-
ing block for the wood to rest on, saving
wood in the streets of Munich aud carrying il
ia boxes into the stores. | had seen women
do almost everything in Italy and Belgium
but had not seen them dong anything llkt
that had curiosity to know about thai
business, and went off and hunted up al
interpreter. said you 90 to that woman snd
ask her what she gets day. She said she
got Is cents cay bnt she could make &c
cents if she could work all the time, but that
she could not work ali day, because she had
to go home to see to the children. l asked
him to ask her in heavens name how many
children she had and how she took care OF
them, and she said she had six children,
How does she take care of them with 10 cents
a day? "Oh," said she, Il get the first wash
ing of that restaurant" pointing to hotel,
sfor 10 cents day, and that feeds Them
Does the free trader in Massachusetts want
his women to work 10 hours q day and take